Prepare Your Communications for a Tumultuous Election Season
July 22, 2024
We still have more than 100 days until Election Day and we’ve already experienced more surprising and emotionally charged events than you’d expect in a season of The West Wing or House of Cards.
None were more shocking than this month’s twin bombshells: the assassination attempt of former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump and yesterday’s history-making announcement that President Joe Biden is bowing out of the race.
The long-term impact of both of these events is still hard to gauge.
But if history is our guide, it won’t be the last time over the next 100-plus days that test our emotions and thrust the news cycle into chaos.
The coming months will be a rollercoaster — and it will challenge those of us who work in communications and PR for social good organizations.
We should expect more surprises and twists. We should also expect that the election’s outcome will prompt many organizations to communicate with their supporters, donors, and partners about how the results will impact their work.
While none of us can truly predict what’s to come, we can be prepared to move quickly and confidently and help guide our organizations through the haze and turbulence.
Here is our advice on navigating the 2024 election cycle:
Create or review your crisis communications plan
This month’s events remind us that organizations need to be ready to make quick decisions about whether and how to communicate in the face of a crisis or fast-moving news event.
A key to communicating effectively in these situations is to have a rapid-response communications protocol that gives you a roadmap for when and how to communicate. Without such a plan, you are more likely to be put on the defensive or miss opportunities to communicate with your key audiences.
We’ve helped several organizations develop these protocols and have digested some of our advice here.
Be prepared to pivot
Every communications team should have content and PR schedules that consider key events, holidays, and internal milestones.
Likewise, every communications team should be prepared to scrap that plan when conditions change.
At Turn Two, we hit the pause button on scheduled social media posts and media pitches about client get out the vote efforts after the assassination attempt on former President Trump. These messages would have struck the wrong chord in the wake of that news.
When big events happen, it’s always important to look at what’s in the queue and make sure that it won’t deliver a tone-deaf message or get drowned out by the news cycle. Also don’t forget to review recently published content and assess whether it should be updated or taken down.
Have your key messages ready
It’s difficult to forecast what the candidates will say and do between now and Nov. 5. But we can be ready to move quickly if they unveil a plan or make a public comment that connects to our cause.
One way to do that is to prepare some vetted messages in advance that you can deploy if needed. Unless you are a clearly partisan organization, take care to craft messages that are relevant across the political spectrum.
These messages should spotlight your values and vision and provide a call to action on what they can to do to help you achieve your vision.
Be ready for Nov. 6 and beyond
We’re encouraging many of our clients to game out some likely scenarios for the election results and develop strategies for how they might approach their communications in the days and weeks after the election based on each likely result. In particular, get up to speed on how potential policy changes or a new partisan makeup of legislative bodies might impact issues and programs core to your organization’s mission.
Many progressive-leaning organizations were caught off guard after President Trump’s election in 2016 and were slow to move with messaging in the days that followed.
If you plan ahead, you can help avoid getting caught by surprise.
Practice self-care
No matter your political ideologies or opinions, the months ahead will be emotional and stressful.
By the nature of our work, it’s easy to get drawn into the constant cycle of news and information about the election.
But it’s important to remember that we also need to take care of ourselves. Find time to unplug and disconnect and lean into what gives you joy, comfort, and motivation.
We have a long road ahead of us between now and the end of 2024. But by planning ahead, being flexible, and practicing some self-care along the way, you can not only make it through, but you can help ensure you’re serving your organization well.
